BMC to extend tenure of existing garbage contractors at Rs98cr

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will table the proposal to extend the contracts of existing garbage collectors at the next Standing Committee meeting. Additional Municipal Commissioner Vijay Singhal said the new contractors would take another six months or more to mobilise their machinery, so to ensure continued waste collection, the existing contractors' tenure will be extended by a few months. He added the dates given in the proposal were likely to change and the contractor's tenure might be extended beyond the mentioned date until a replacement was in place.

Singhal stated the existing contracts will be extended at old rates, which is estimated to cost around Rs 98 crore. Around 7,100 tonnes of garbage are collected and transported by BMC and contractors daily. In 2012, it appointed eight contractors and awarded them five-year contracts, which expired last year. BMC paid them around Rs1,000 crore in the last five years and Rs800 per tonne of garbage collected.

For the new contracts, which will be executed in six months, the BMC has divided

the city into 14 groups, allotted tenders worth Rs1,800 crore and offered the contractors Rs 700 per tonne of garbage collected. As per the new contract, waste collection must be carried out for seven years. From providing garbage bins and manpower to collection and transportation, it will be the sole responsibility of the contractor. For the first time, the BMC has handed over the entire task to the contractor.